insideKENT Magazine Issue 70 - January 2018 | Page 35

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE:
TOTAL PAP
THERE IS MORE TO PAPIER MÂCHÉ THAN SCHOOL ART LESSONS FULL OF OLD
NEWSPAPER AND WALLPAPER PASTE. MUCH MORE. PAPIER MÂCHÉ IS A WONDERFUL,
EXCITING, AND ALTOGETHER BEAUTIFUL MEDIUM IN WHICH ARTISTS JUSTIN MITCHELL
AND EMILY FIRMIN OF TOTAL PAP LOVE TO WORK. WE SPOKE TO TOTAL PAP ABOUT
HOW THEY CAME TO BE, AND THEIR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.
Cat Angels by Emily Firmin
Dog On Denim by Justin Mitchel
Dogs Do Lunch by Emily Firmin
Total Pap Workshop
If you had to define your art, how would
you describe what you do?
We make three-dimensional papier mâché
wall-mounted pictures, freestanding
sculptures, automata and ceramics among
other things. Subtly autobiographical, we lean
towards humour, but try to incorporate an
element of peculiarity.
How did you become artists?
Emily is from the Firmin dynasty of artists.
She grew up in a creatively prolific
environment in Blean where Peter, her father,
and Oliver Postgate worked on The Clangers,
Bagpuss and much more. Emily's mother,
Joan, was a bookbinder and each of her five
sisters are artistic in one way or another.
I had always enjoyed drawing at school and
harboured ambitions to go to art college, but
my slightly pretentious efforts were rewarded
with an ungraded result, which was a bit of a
knock back! I started playing music in bands.
Around that time I met Emily, who had studied
graphics B-Tech at Canterbury College of Art,
but had just finished a graphics film degree at
Central St Martins. due to the amount of people turning their
hand to market stalls to earn some money.
Fortunately for us they had just finished
building the Victorian Craft hall next to the
lock and took a shine to our stall. It was hard
work, but Camden was great place to meet
people and open doors.
We were both out of work and applying for
jobs without much success, so Emily
suggested we have a go at making some papier
mâché things for a bit of entertainmen